Love Is A Funny Thing
by AmandaRae0825
Summary: Exploring this love story a bit more between H and Bridget as they figure life out / SET A YEAR OR SO AFTER "SICK AND SOUND" / 3rd story in series
1. Chapter 1- Rough Night

Bridget woke up to the sound of Horatio snoring in the bed next to her. She looked at her clock reading _3:30am_ , she sighed (she had been up every hour, on the hour since she went to bed at 10pm). She sat up on the edge of the bed trying to move as carefully as possible to not wake her husband.

 _Horatio and Bridget's relationship had really bloomed over the past year. After dozens of dates and getting to know each other, Horatio popped the question and she said yes. The wedding was about a month ago and they were as happy as can be._

Bridget got up to go use the bathroom careful not to make their hardwood floor creak.

The bathroom was on Horatio's side of the room. Bridget slept on the right side of the bed while Horatio slept on the left. On both sides of the bed there were side tables, each had a lamp and an alarm clock. There was a large window on Bridget's side in the center of the wall with brown drapes (to match the cream colored walls) and venetian blinds. There is an old dark brown recliner chair kitty-cornered on that same wall. Horatio's side harbored the bathroom and their walk in closet; the bed was directly in front of the door entering the bedroom.

Bridget stood up and began quietly walking to the bathroom. She was wearing a large baggy T-shirt and grey sweat pants; her long black hair was up in a bun. She walked into the bathroom, shut the door and turned on the light. She looked in the mirror and saw how dark the circles under her eyes were; she shrugged and went on to do her business. Bridget washed her hands, turned the lights off and walked back to bed, once she was comfortable again she let out a sigh and closed her eyes.

Horatio's alarm clock started screaming at 6:30am. He was sleeping on his stomach one arm under the pillow and one arm on the top of it. His free arm slapped the alarm clock to make it quiet and he heard a moan from Bridget.

"Make it stop," she muttered into her pillow

"Already did darling." he replied letting out a sigh

Horatio sat up on the side of the bed and walked to the bathroom. While he shut the door Bridget rolled onto her back and looked up at the celling clutching one of their many pillows on the bed. She couldn't help but worry about her lack of sleep and exhaustion.

"Bridget?" Horatio called from the bathroom, the door still shut

Bridget snapped out of her trance, looked towards the bathroom and answered "Yes Horatio?"

"Are you showering this morning?" He asked opening the bathroom door

Bridget rolled onto her right side facing Horatio.

"Oh, I didn't think about it; I probably should." She replied with a tired smile

"Probably" Horatio chuckled and grinned, Bridget threw a pillow at him and laughed.

Bridget grunted and reluctantly rolled out of bed briefly looking at the clock to see it was 6:40am. She walked into the bathroom kissing her new husband on the cheek before running the water for the shower. Horatio went to the kitchen downstairs to make them breakfast leaving his blushing bride to shower. Bridget showered, dried off, got dressed and then sprawled out in the shape of an X in the middle of the bed.

After about 15 minuets Horatio walked upstairs into their bedroom to see what was taking his beautiful wife so long when he stopped in the doorway and smiled. Horatio walked over to the bed and stroked his wife's cheek.

"Bridget honey" Horatio said sweetly

"Mmh" Bridget replied

"What are you doing?" He asked with a giggle

"Sleeping." Bridget muttered and turned onto her side

"I am tired… didn't sleep well." She confessed.

Horatio frowned, he thought there were a few times during the week where he was stirred awake in the middle of the night but he had figured he was dreaming. Horatio left his wife on the bed while he walked to the bathroom and quickly showered. Once he finished getting himself organized for work he started nudging Bridget again to wake her up.

"You really have to get up now, its 7:05 we have to leave in about twenty minuets." Horatio said sternly.

"I'm up, I'm up." Bridget said groggily as she sat up in the center of the bed, her hair was still sopping wet, she looked into her husbands piercing blue eyes and smiled.

"I take it you haven't been sleeping well?" Horatio asked with one eyebrow cocked up

"Not at all." Bridget managed a laugh and made her way to the bathroom to do her hair and makeup

"Can you think of any reason why?" Horatio was now concerned, the last time she was this tired she got gravely ill.

"No, my body is probably just used to waking up every hour." Bridget said as she applied her mascara.

Horatio knew better but he didn't want to argue with her. He smiled and walked downstairs to finish getting ready to go to work. Bridget finished applying her makeup, got dressed and followed him downstairs. The two got into the hummer and were off to the crime lab.

 **I definitely want to keep this going; I am not entirely sure where I want to take it although I have a few ideas. I am trying to make my writing as clear and full of imagery (my weak point).**


	2. Chapter 2- The Nightmare

The lab was generally busy but this week it was unusually quiet. Bridget decided to team up with Natalia, Eric and Ryan and work on a cold case from the 1970's.

"He was shot FIVE times and they were all through and through" Natalia said shocked

"This was a brutal murder, someone really wanted this guy dead." Ryan said shaking his head

"They couldn't find any finger prints, bullet casings, I could keep going." Bridget was upset thinking this was going to be an impossible case.

"I guess we figured out why this case went cold." Eric replied.

The day went on with nothing new from the cold case, which really upset Bridget. At around 6:00pm Horatio went into the lab to find her slaving over this case alone, she told everyone else to leave.

"Sweetheart give it a break for today." Horatio told his obviously tired wife

"I can't, I am missing something I just know it!" Bridget was upset

"Well you can take a fresh look tomorrow, I can help tomorrow too." Horatio smiled

Bridget rolled her eyes at him and decided he was right. She closed the box and put it back. She kissed Horatio's cheek, grabbed his hand and they walked out. Once they got home Horatio made them dinner and then they went up to bed.

"It's only 8:00 o'clock, Jesus I really must not be sleeping well if I am this tired now." Bridget looked at Horatio and smiled.

"I'd say so." Horatio grinned

"Goodnight Horatio" Bridget said as she pulled the covers over her body.

Around 1:00am there was a lot of stirring coming from Bridget. She was thrashing around, talking in her sleep and breathing heavily. Horatio was a sound sleeper with his snoring so he didn't feel a thing.

 _Bridget was standing in a dimly lit hallway. She felt that she had been here before. She looked to her left and saw what was seemingly a dead end. She looked to her right and could see part of a kitchen. Everything was blank, nothing on the walls, no furniture, nothing. She started to walk towards the kitchen. Once in the kitchen she stood in the center of the room and cried out._

 _Hello? Hello! What the hell is going on!_

 _Suddenly a deep raspy voice emerged from down the hall_

 _Bridge?_

 _Bridget's head whipped to look down the hall and she started to cry_

 _Andrew!_

 _The two ran to each other in the center of the hallway embracing immediately. Bridget started to see the scene in more detail she realized where she was now. Bridget couldn't help but plead with Andrew and cry._

 _Oh god! We have to get out of here! I have to save you!_

 _You can't save me Bridget._

 _Yes I can! Lets go now! Please Andrew!_

 _You can't save me Bridge._

 _Yes! We need to run! The house is going to explode any second!_

 _You can't save me_

 _Stop saying that! Lets go!_

 _Bridget started to run, she was on the front porch when she screamed his name one last time. The house exploded and she was in the front lawn._

 _ANDREW! NOO!_

Bridget screamed and shot up in bed, she was sweating and panting. Horatio shot up as well, and practically lunged at her.

"Bridget?!" Horatio was startled

Bridget couldn't speak. She sat there with tears streaming down her face playing with her wedding ring.

"I am fine. I am sorry I startled you." Bridget was calm and quiet

"Are you sure? You don't sound fine." Horatio was trying to make eye contact with her but she wouldn't let him.

"Yes." Her voice quivered. She laid back down and tried to fall back asleep


	3. Chapter 3- Fighting For Life

Once again 6:30am came around and Horatio's alarm screamed out. Bridget had been up since the nightmare so getting out of bed to shower was like a dream come true. Horatio was still not convinced she was okay but knew when she wanted to talk she would so he went on as if everything was normal. The drive to the crime lab was as uncomfortable as ever but they both managed. Immediately walking into the lab Horatio went to his office and Natalia stopped Bridget.

"Something happened, what happened, do I have to kill H?!" Natalia was concerned

"No, I am fine really, heh..." Bridget forced a laugh

"You are such a bad liar tell me what's going on." Natalia wasn't about to let Bridget go without knowing what happened.

"Just a bad nightmare, Jesus Christ Natalia stay out of it." Bridget was angry and walked away.

Natalia was shocked. This was not Bridget and something was seriously wrong. Natalia decided to let it go just so she didn't have to deal with her wrath.

Around noon Horatio decided to go find Bridget to try and figure out what could have possible happened last night. He found her in the break room getting coffee. The break room was small; there was a fridge, microwave and three counters. There was a small table in the center of the room with three chairs surrounding it. She was standing at one of the counters obsessively stirring her coffee. The sun shining in from the big window shined on her.

"Hi" Horatio said timidly

"Hey" Bridget's reply was far from normal

"What happened last night?" Horatio asked while he put his hands on her shoulders massaging them lightly

"I really don't want to tell you, it's something we haven't talked about yet." Bridget sighed

"How can I help you if I don't know what is wrong?" Horatio smiled

"God dammit. Fine." Bridget shot around to look at Horatio when suddenly a gunshot rang out and she fell to the floor.

She couldn't tell if this was another dream or reality. She was lying on her side and couldn't move. She heard muffled screaming and could see Horatio panicked and pushing on abdomen to stop the bleeding. Suddenly she came out of this "coma like" she gasped and screamed out.

"Bridget stay with me sweetheart 911 has been notified they are on their way." Horatio was holding back tears

"It… it hurts…" Her eyes began to close

"NO, NO, NO BRIDGET STAY WITH ME OPEN YOUR EYES RIGHT NOW!" Horatio yelled out

Just then Natalia (disregarding the evacuation trying to get a jump on arresting whoever pulled the trigger) ran in and saw what was going on.

"OH MY GOD! HORATIO WHAT HAPPENED." Natalia ran over to help H stop the bleeding and keep Bridget awake

"She was shot, through the window, we were talking and then BANG" Horatio was trying to remain calm

"Bridget, you have to open your eyes!" Natalia grabbed Bridget's face

Bridget tried to open her eyes but had a hard time keeping them open. She tried to focus on Horatio's blue eyes.

"I… love… you…" Bridget said in-between breaths and sobs

"I love you too, you have to stay awake please Bridget please!" Horatio pled with his wife

"I'm… trying…" Bridget's voice trailed off

No more than 10 minuets went by and the EMT's rushed in practically shoving H and Natalia out of the way to get to Bridget.

"GET AN IV IN STAT!" Bridget heard one of them say.

"BP 100 over 70, pulse 150, respirations 24" The other one cried out

"We need to go now," the EMT cried out as Bridget fell back into darkness.


	4. Chapter 4- Andrew?

Bridget woke up sitting curled in a ball in the corner of a large bright white room. She slowly reached up and touched her face with her right hand. She moved her hand up her head and felt that her hair was in a bun. She looked down at her feet to see she was barefoot; she extended her legs out and saw she was in a long white strapless sundress. She looked up and saw a man standing a few feet in front of her.

The man was tall about 5'10 and he was very muscular. He was fare skinned with green eyes. His hair was a light brown, short on the sides and longer on the top. He was wearing a police officer uniform. His dimples popped out when he smiled at Bridget.

"Hi Bridge… I've missed you," He said smiling, putting a hand out to help her up

"I've missed you too Andrew" Bridget said with a smile grabbing his hand to stand up

The two embraced, Bridget felt herself trembling.

"What's wrong Bridge?" Andrew asked grabbing her shoulders forcing her away to be able to make eye contact

"This… you're… I'm…" Bridget didn't know what to say

"You were shot and you passed out," Andrew said

"Why am I here?" Bridget asked

"This is halfway between life and the afterlife" Andrew responded

"Are you stuck here?" Bridget asked as she put her hands on his face

"Na, those in the afterlife come back to limbo when our loved ones are in need." Andrew smiled

"So I can go back? What if I stay here with you?" Bridget asked as she crossed her arms

"You can't stay here with me are you crazy? What about Horatio and Natalia?" Andrew asked

"How do you know about them?" Bridget asked

"What do you think I do all day? I make sure you don't do something stupid" Andrew playfully tapped her arm and laughed.

"Do you hate me for moving on?" Bridget said looking down

"It hurt at first but now it's the highlight of my days to see you with Horatio, he makes you so happy!" Andrew cupped is hand and raised her head up to make eye contact

"I tried to save you" Bridget felt the tears well up in her eyes

"Shh, don't cry you did everything you could it was my time." Andrew hugged her

"I don't want Horatio to feel like I have, how can I get back?" Bridget asked with urgency

"Just run, run and don't look back," Andrew said as he walked behind her and gave her a shove

Bridget sprinted and never looked back. It hurt to leave her first love but she knew she needed to go back; she needed to get back to Horatio. After a few moments Bridget's field of view turned black and everything was dark.


	5. Chapter 5

Bridget's eyes slowly opened and shut multiple times before fixating on Horatio, he was in a chair next to the hospital bed. Horatio's arms and legs were crossed, his head was tilted forward and he was asleep. He looked like he hadn't shaved or showered in a few days. Bridget frowned; this meant she had been unconscious for some time. Bridget took a deep breath and swallowed, she knew this was going to be painful.

Bridget grimaced while she turned on to her left side slowly; she was trying not to be loud with her winces of pain. She felt tears streaming down her face even though she wasn't actively crying. Once she got onto her side she wiped her face and took a few more deep breaths.

"Horatio." Bridget said raspy in a practical whisper

"Babe…" Bridget swallowed hard and still raspy

Horatio's eyes opened to see his wife's big beautiful blue eyes. Horatio's face lit up and he smiled. He leaned forward and grabbed Bridget's hand, she smiled. Horatio took a deep breath to hold back his tears.

"It's been one week too long beautiful…" Horatio said caressing her hand

"One week?" Bridget said with a deep sigh

"Yeah, we found out who shot you." Horatio replied softly

"I've been unconscious for a week?" Bridget said ignoring what Horatio just told her

"Did you hear what I said sweetheart?" Horatio asked with his head cocked to the side

"Yeah I did, what the hell happened Horatio?" Bridget asked while she looked at him terrified.

"After the paramedics arrived you were rushed here to the emergency department. You were bleeding fast and furious; the bullet hit your gallbladder, liver and nicked your kidney. After they attempted to stabilize you, you were rushed to emergency surgery. From there you were placed here, in the ICU and we have been waiting for you to wake up." Horatio explained

"Oh…" Bridget looked horrified

"You're okay now sweetheart just focus on that." Horatio smiled

"Right…" Bridget replied

Horatio let go of Bridget's hand and slouched back in his chair. She didn't look fazed by his letting go of her, that concerned him. Suddenly it dawned on Horatio that the night prior to Bridget getting shot she had a nightmare that upset her greatly. He also knew the shooter was connected to a case Bridget was involved in three years ago.

"Bridget… are you okay?" Horatio asked as he sat back in the chair with his arms crossed

Bridget slowly rolled on to her back again staring at the ceiling.

"Yeah, I'm fine" Bridget said as she turned her head to face him

"Bridge, we know who shot you." Horatio said quietly

Bridget looked into Horatio's deep blue eyes intrigued with what he said.

"Well…" Bridget said cocking up her eyebrow

"You have to promise me that you're not going to freak out." Horatio said as he grabbed her hand

"Okay well now you have to tell me," Bridget said as she let out a small, painful chuckle.

"You were shot by the same guy who killed your partner in that house explosion." Horatio squeezed her hand

Bridget's jaw dropped and her eyes widened like a deer in the headlights.

"Are you okay?" Horatio asked concerned

"How did he find me?" Bridget asked angrily

"You know your information is public sweetie," Horatio told his tired and now angry wife

Bridget became angry and agitated

"He killed my partner Horatio, KILLED HIM and now he is after me!" Bridget was visibly upset; her heart rate was rapidly increasing on the monitors

"I need you to calm down," Horatio said as he grabbed Bridget's hand, hoping to ease her fears

"Calm down?! That man cost me not only my job but also the love of my-" Bridget cut herself off, she had never talked about Andrew with Horatio before

Horatio let go of Bridget's hand and slumped back down in his chair. He crossed his arms and legs and took a deep breath. Bridget was now staring up at the celling trying not to cry. She bit her lip and glanced over at a visibly upset Horatio, his eyebrow was cocked and he was glaring at her.

"I guess it's time to come clean right?" Bridget asked with a slight grin hoping to cheer him up

"I guess it is." Horatio replied


	6. Chapter 6- The Reveal

Bridget had been dreading this moment since she first became romantically involved with Horatio. She never knew how she was going to tell him about her relationship with Andrew and her reoccurring nightmares four plus years after the fact.

"I'm waiting" Horatio said patiently with his arms and legs crossed in the chair next to the bed with his eyebrow cocked.

"I know, I know" Bridget replied as she moved the bed up into the sitting position. Bridget looked into Horatio's eyes hoping he understands why she kept this from him fo so long.

"I don't know where to start Horatio." Bridget looked over at her husband

"From the beginning." Horatio replied

"I met Andrew when I first started at the FLPD when I was 25. He was assigned to train me and we ended up becoming partners. The relationship started off as any normal co-worker relationship with some witty banter and awkward glances and stares." Bridget said with a sigh

Horatio grinned because that was exactly how their relationship started out.

"We started out with patrolling and then we got our first case together as partners. It was a hit and run, really basic stuff compared to what I do now. In the midst of solving the case we spent a lot of time together and things just sort of happened." Bridget paused for a moment, she hasn't talked about Andrew like this to anyone ever before

Horatio saw she was becoming upset so he uncrossed his legs and arms and pulled his chair closer to the bed and leaned on it. He could see this was a comfort for her and she began talking again.

"We couldn't tell anyone about the relationship because of the rules in the department at the time. We were forced to keep things a secret but everything started to fall apart right before his death. His death was the result of a yearlong investigation into burglaries around the area. We walked in to the home of Angela Tate; she was raped, shot, strangled and beaten. The entire house was ransacked Horatio." Bridget paused for a moment.

"Angela's daughter was left screaming in her crib. I quickly grabbed her out of the crib and told her Andrew to run, I a feeling something was wrong. Within seconds of me running out the house it blew up. I still don't know if he died due to the blast or if the fire killed him, they never found his body." Bridget had tears streaming down her face.

"Angela's daughter and I were collapsed on the front yard and to be honest Horatio I don't even know how much time went by all I remember is feeling like my world was falling apart; and lets face it, it did."

Horatio sat and stared at Bridget and wondered to himself how within the past three years none of this has ever come up. He slumped back into the chair stunned, and then something dawned on him.

"Bridget, your nightmares… specifically the one the night before you were shot-" Horatio was interrupted by Bridget

"It is the same dream every time. We are in the house, I have the little girl in my hands, I run and he doesn't… he refuses to. I can never save him and at the end the damn house always blows up." Bridget told him as she looked up at the ceiling.

"Horatio, there is one more thing…" Bridget looked over at him reluctantly

"Bridget, you know you can tell me anything" Horatio replied as he grabbed her hand

With a deep sigh Bridget revealed something to him that she has never told anyone before.

"Horatio, I had found out that morning that I was pregnant… I miscarried in the midst of all of the disaster, when I was checked out at the hospital after the explosion they even verified it. That is how everyone found out about our relationship." Bridget told him.

Bridget squeezed Horatio's hand while trying her hardest not to cry. Horatio was stunned, he couldn't move nor could he speak. After a few moments Horatio stood up, he walked over to the window and took a deep breath. He slowly walked back towards Bridget who was a sobbing mess at this point. He took his shoes off and climbed into the bed next to her. He calmed Bridget down and rubbed her cheek until she fell asleep. Once she was asleep he did the same.


End file.
